In Anticipation of Spring

It still looks like winter here in Ames; snow is on the ground and coats are a must. But after nearly nine months of waiting, I finally ordered a cargo bike to be delivered to Skunk River Cycles to be built and tuned up. It is due to arrive via FedEx Ground on Monday of next week. I figure it will take about a week for it to be assembled. That gives the snow plenty of time to melt and me plenty of time to develop my bike legs in time for Ames' Kidical Mass inaugural 2013 family ride at the end of the month.

How did you choose your bike?
Originally, when we moved to Ames, Tim and I just planned to get regular bikes and a trailer for the boys. Having gone down to a one-car family with the move to Iowa, we wanted to challenge ourselves with going car-lite. This was made even more possible by buying a house that is about a mile from pretty much everywhere we usually go: park, school, church, grocery, etc. Before you get too impressed, Ames isn't that big and everything is within about a 3-mile radius of our centrally located house.

I hemmed and hawed and read about two thousand blogs about all the various trailers and trail-a-bike systems. I was a little nervous about the trailers because our one-car garage is rather full with our one car. I also doubted that a trailer would really be useful for much longer as the boys get bigger and older.  Would it be "cool" to be in a kid trailer to go to kindergarten? Would they beat each other black and blue in the confines of a trailer?

Somewhere along my web surfing I cam across the cargo bikes and my real obsession began. I mooned over xtracycles, Madsens and Yubas. I considered the Big Dummy and even the big clunky box bikes. Since Tim and I are backpackers, we dreamed of being able to go bike camping with the boys which made the xtracycle and Yubas more attractive for their handling. Ultimately I decided to go with the Yuba...it seemed the most sturdy and simple for a novice like me. Also it seemed to be the one that more moms with lots o' kids were using in the blogosphere. I really liked the fact that it was possible for the boys to ride their own bikes and then hop on mine when they got tired. Bottom line, if it wasn't going to make towing two kids easy, I wouldn't have much time to use it.

Where did you buy your bike?
I had a choice to make: buy online and have it built locally or buy in Des Moines and purchase a tandem bike carrier to bring it home. Ultimately I decided that it was better to stick with the local folks as I figured we'd be needing lots of service and accessories through the years if we were really going to go car-lite. I cringed at not being able to buy it locally though. I have no idea if bike shops make their  margin on large or small items, but it sure would have been nicer to let some local salesperson get the commission on my purchase. Skunk River Cycles was my choice: they support a lot of the same charities we do and they have a shop cat. Oh, and they are within walking distance of our house. And I like shopping on Main Street in general. Even our closing attorney recommended them!

How much is this bike costing you?
Well, if you really want to know, go to the Yuba website and check out the prices yourself. It isn't cheap, but compared to a car or a year-long gym membership it is more than reasonable. Now you see why we saved up for nine months for this purchase. Since we've gone down to one car we've seen our gas expenses go from $400 per month to about $125--most of that being trips to the Science Museum. Our insurance has been reduced by about 75%. Obviously with less wear and tear on the Subaru, our maintenance costs are also significantly lower. If I prorate our gas, insurance and taxes on the car (excluding repairs) the Yuba Mundo will cost about the equivalent of six months of car ownership. So I figure in the course of about 2.5 years we will recoup the costs.

Now I just play the waiting game. I watch the Weather Channel and the FedEx Tracking website more often than necessary. I dream of popping boys on the back and tooling around town.

Where's Waldo?

I finished my entry for the One Pattern Many Looks contest on patternreview.com. As you can see, my "many looks" is fairly subtle, hence the call out photos calling your attention to the difference. But look at those matching stripes!!!

Stuff I Want

I've been enjoying my sewing so much lately. I'll post later about my two follow-up tops for my One Pattern Many Looks contest, but today I'd like to write about what sewing has been doing to my mind. It does help me relax and it is so nice to have something to show for my work at the end of the day. Parenting, cleaning and cooking don't quite have the same "look at what I did" appeal.

The dark side of sewing has been a serious case of the gimme's. I find that as I plan and prepare for future projects I am increasingly finding things that I want to buy. Crafting in general for me has this problem. People buy the materials for whatever craft/art interests them but they spend far less time actually DOING the craft. It's as if by buying a watercolor paint set and nice papers, it will magically turn you into the sort of person who paints lovely landscapes. It is the crafting fantasy. Now I've always been cautious of this tendency in me. Even craft supplies that I no longer use, at least at one point were in heavy rotation: card making supplies, I'm looking at you.

But since I know that I'll be doing some serious sewing for at least a year, its as if all my internal stop gap measures to avoid hoarding are gone. I feel entitled to web browse for things, even if I'm muddling along just fine. So in full confession mode, here's the stuff I want:

Sewing Furniture

For the most part, actual furniture made specifically for sewists is hideous, oak veneered, particleboard monstrosity. But I would love to put my sewing machine on something more stable than the card table that I'm currently using. Oh, and a cutting table like this that would get me, my self-healing mat, and rotary cutter off the floor would be a dream.

A Dress Form

While I would love to be able to splurge for a high quality form like this one from Fabulous Fit ($390):

I could be easily appeased with a standard adjustable one from a sewing outlet for about $129

Do I NEED a form. Probably not. But it would be so nice for help with fitting and with taking brag photos for the blog!

A Better Iron

My current iron was purchased by my husband at the hardware store. Need I say more? It steams and gets the job done but I'd love to have an iron with more than 12 steam holes. Say something like this:

400 steam holes!! Imagine!

Better Fabric

Ames has three fabric stores: Joann, Hobby Lobby and Quilting Connection. The first two have fabric that is fine for muslins but really substandard for durable garments. Quilting Connection has a fantastic array of fabrics...for quilting. So far I've been making do with Joann but I'm frustrated and know sooner or later I'm going to have to shop online. I've been eyeing these stores:

Gorgeous Fabrics
Emma One Sock
Elingeria (lingerie/swimming fabric)
Mood
Fabric.com

A Pantone Fandeck

If I'm going to start buying fabrics online, I'm going to need some color help. Enter the Pantone fan deck. Most of the better fabric stores list their fabrics by Pantone number.

Small House Patterns

While I can get patterns from "the big 4" companies at Joann (McCalls, Vogue, Simlicity, Butterick), I'd really like to get some of the great patterns from smaller houses like Sewaholic, StyleArc, Jalie, and Pamela's Patterns. Style Arc in particular interests me as their patterns are often knock offs of current fashions and they give hints on how to style them. Oh, but they're located in Australia--shipping charges are a bit steep. Sewaholic drafts patterns for the pear-shaped body, which obviously appeals to me as well.

Better Lighting

I really do love my small basement studio. The boys have their art table and I have my sewing space. And there is tons of storage space for fabrics, tools, supplies, etc. I just wish I had slightly better lighting around my imaginary sewing furniture. An Ottlight floor lamp would be awesome.

Okay, so that's about $2500-$3500 worth of stuff right there the range depending on the amount of fabric and patterns purchased. I'm off to scour Craig's List and Goodwill and hope for the best! I do think the better fabric and a few new patterns may be in my future though.

The First Garment of 2013

 And it is finished! My first garment of 2013--and it is only January 7th! This v-neck may not be perfect but it is certainly wearable--even in public! Here are my notes for posterity:

• The directions were super with the slight exception of the lack of detail about putting in the neckband. I really liked the final results though.

• The sides are a bit snug but I've also put on about 5 lbs since the beginning of Christmas season so I don't want to alter the pattern too much for a problem area that I KNOW I can get whipped into shape by next month.
• The bust is also a bit snug. Instead of doing a major change to the pattern, I think I'll just add a bit more length to the front and then ease that into the rouching on the sides. I HATE t-shirts with darts so the rouching is a nice alternative.
• I had a few blips in setting the sleeves the first time so a little ripping and restitching were called for. I think I'll improve with experience.

• My topstitching on the cuffs and hems leaves much to be desired. Next time I'm going to lengthen the stitches and experiment with the double needle option. Too much puckering.

Now as for the contest, I'm not sure how many of these I really want to make. I certainly have a white rayon shirt on deck and I'd like to try out a stripe. Not very creative but at least I'll make my goal of having an entry.

The First Top of 2013-Vogue 8536

So work is underway on my first article of clothing for the new year. It is meant to be a tomato red, long-sleeved, v-neck shirt. It's the one in grey on the pattern cover above. I've still got to attach the arms and hem the bottom but so far it is a decent effort for a wearable garment, and an EXCELLENT effort for an initial muslin. For some unknown reason, I decided to jump back into sewing with the world's wonkiest, most slippery thin rayon knit. Thread tracing to find the grainline was an exercise in futility. Beware the red tag clearance knit! Overachiever I suppose. Next time I'm using plain old squishy interlock...that stuff doesn't budge.

I'm planning to make a few of these tops as entries in to the One Pattern Many Looks contest. We'll see if I include the big tomato top in the entry--if I can crank out two more of these before the end of the month probably not.

I've been reading up on fit so I don't make a bunch of potato sacks this year. (FYI does anyone else think that "swayback" is code for small waist and big bum?) For the first time in my life, I based the pattern size on my upper bust and not my bust size. Surprise! It actually fit my small shoulders perfectly. I think I may want to increase the side gathers to make a little more room for the bust and definitely add a little room to the waist and hips. Thank goodness knits are forgiving!

The Shopping Trip

Yesterday, thanks to the Christmas generosity of my in-laws, I made a trip to Jo-Ann's to get ready for my first project of the new year. I purchased several patterns for $1 each, some new needles, thread, seam tape, a new blade for my rotary cutter, marking transfer paper, a HUGE mat for rotary cutting and 1.5 yards each of red and white rayon fabric. The sales plus a 15% off coupon meant that I got it all for less than $75. The mat was the bulk of the cost, but I'm hoping that it will get good use this next year.

I then walked next door and checked out Thread's Easy Guide to Sewing Tops and T-Shirts, Skirts and Pants to learn more about sewing knits. I've decided for the first project to make a few variations on a basic knit top. I've never sewn knits successfully before. I figure if they turn out a bit wonky I can just wear them under sweaters for the winter, right? 

I'm pre-washing the fabric right now and can't wait until tomorrow to start cutting and marking. Why the wait? Well, I want to participate in a contest called "One Pattern, Many Looks" on the Pattern Review website. I figure the camaraderie with other contestants will help me stick to it this month. I have no hope of actually winning the contest. I'll consider myself a winner if I actually get a decent looking entry submitted before the deadline at the end of the month.

I must admit my glee at all my new fabrics and tools makes me wonder if this project will really help curb my consumerist appetites or just whet them. Time will tell.

Thinking About 2013

Have you started thinking about your New Year's resolutions? I have. A lot. Between much-needed weight loss and our recent move to a colder climate, I had to do some significant wardrobe shopping this past fall. I took it as the perfect opportunity to reevaluate my style. After five years of fulltime Mom-on-the-go status, I'm sorry to say that my clothes were just a bit tired, ill fitting and flat out worn out. So I started looking at blogs for inspiration for honing my style for the next phase in life.

Well, I fell down a rabbit hole, so to speak. I happened upon a fabulous  blog called The Vivienne Files which advocates having a smaller but more functional wardrobe based on a core of neutral colors and silhouettes with a splash of accent colors. The simplicity of such a wardrobe really appealed to me as did the polished aspirations of the final look. I also appreciated that, unlike several other fashion blogs I perused, it didn't focus on trends but on developing your own personal style.

Through that site and others, I found recommendations for two books: Overdressed: the High Cost of Cheap Fashion and Deluxe. Each book deserves at least a post of their own...which I intend to do later. But my take away from each was that:

1. The quality of ready-to-wear, even those on the higher end of the price scale, has declined significantly. Most clothes are throw-away quality these days.
2. The appetite for newer, trendier, cheaper clothes has led to significant degradation of the condition of those who make our clothes--people.
3. Knock offs are worse than "disposable clothes." They fund all sorts of atrocities and terrorism and are merely signifiers to an era of luxury that no longer exists.

So after much thought and consideration, I've decided to take on a new challenge for 2013: I am going to stop buying clothing altogether AND make my own clothing as needed. I may make a few exceptions for things that would truly be difficult for me to make: socks, shoes and tights come to mind. But I'm committed to even complex items like lingerie, swimwear, and outerwear. 

What do I hope to gain from this project? Several things. Better sewing skills for sure. I need to master the full bust adjustment (FBA) and would love to learn to draft my own patterns. But also solidarity with those craftspeople who manufacture my clothing: perhaps with a renewed acceptance to pay more for fair trade and quality projects. I want to jump off the ever rapidly spinning trend cycle that seems to produce more dissatisfaction and waste. I'd like to have pride in my own work, and the freedom to make clothes that truly fit my body. I'd like to delight in fashion without becoming a slave to it. Is that even possible I wonder? Most of all, I'm interested to see what unexpected things come out of such a project. 

Will I make it? I don't know. Will it be fun to try? Absolutely! Will it be fun to read about? You tell me!

Big Boy Haircut

Jack got his first big boy haircut this week. It happened by accident really. Up until now I just tell the barber to do the best to get the hair off the neck and out of his eyes. Jack usually lasts about 5 minutes before melting down. This time I sang songs with him while Mr. Ray at All Cuts worked his magic. He did a little bit at a time so as not to "get into something that Jack won't let us finish." With the exception of the clippers, Jack was a real trooper and managed to get his first truly short 'do since he grew hair.

I'm not sure I was ready to have the beach hair chopped, but I wanted to strike while the iron was hot as long as Jack was having a positive hair cut experience.

The funny thing is, I think Jack sees himself as older now with the new cut. He's talking more and even made improvements with potty usage (don't ask). Now if he will just make his own bed...

Stop, look, listen

A lot of folks ask me how to get kids to enjoy hiking. To me that's like asking how to get kids to enjoy reading...it depends on your ultimate goal. Early on, Tim and I realized that we enjoyed different parts of hiking: Tim likes the physical challenge of a tough hike of long miles followed by a good meal. Cold and rain only make it even better. I, on the other hand, enjoy looking at birds, flowers and chatting with other hikers we come across. We both love the connection that being in nature give us to our "right sized" place in this world. Successful hiking with kids involves both

With young kids, I think it is important to realize that the primary joy they will get from hiking while it is happening is finding and discovering things: a frog, a big rock, a sign. Then of course there are always those special treats that only seem to show up on hikes: peanut M&Ms, honey and peanut butter wraps, etc. It is only after the hike itself that they seem to revel in the challenge completed.

If you think about it, it isn't unlike the many other challenges young children face everyday. Using the potty, buttoning their shirt, writing letters. The process is often full of frustration and patience and pacing are important. But once you are done, nothing beats the sense of accomplishment a kid exudes when he proclaims, "Look what I did, Mom!"

A Pizza Making Party

Just a quick catch up post about Xavier's birthday party last May.

The theme: a pizza parlor. I used checkered table cloths, a blackboard as a "today's special" and some balloons and streamers.

The activities: Each child made their own pizza and decorated a chef's hat

The games: musical chairs, red light/green light, pin the tail on the donkey

The cake: a tub of Bluebell ice-cream with four candles in it. The kids got to "cook" their own sundaes

The favors: a balloon to go with their hat to take home

Simple and fun.

What Our Homeschool Looks Like

Just pulling some old photos off the camera and thought some of you would like to know what our homeschool looks like. As Xavier gets closer and closer to five, we are slowly but surely being "outed" as homeschoolers to our friends and neighbors. But for us homeschooling isn't a solitary endeavor at home devoid of any friends.

Twice a week we participate in a preschool co-op. None of the other kids come from homeschooling families (older sibs are in conventional school) but neither are any of them in preschool or MDO. Its sort of a halfway point between homeschooling and conventional schooling. In addition to this, once a week I run a music co-op. I take the boys with me to the gym 2-3 times a week where they play with other boys and girls in the kid's gym. And of course, there always at least one or two playdates with friends.

On to academics. These photos are from February when Xavier was mad about numbers and counting. He put the numbers in order than counted out their "cargo." These days he's more into letters and reading but math is still a steady part of our week.

One last benefit of homeschooling is eliminating the need to get up and go first thing in the morning to beat the carpool line. While we have a set routine each morning of cuddle, eat, dress; if the boys have had a restless night and need a little more sleep, we just take our time transitioning. As you can see, this morning both boys got up before they were ready and promptly fell back asleep on the couch. Notice the identical body position!

Music Lover's Punishment

My boys have always been music lovers. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm singing all the time. We love to make up songs together. A hiking ditty is called "Watch Where You Put Your Feet."

Watch where you put your feet,
Watch where you put your feet,
Snakes, and puddles and logs,
Watch where you put your feet.

For about two months we've been working with a special music curriculum called Making Music Praying Twice. One day a week we have friends come over and we sing songs, dance, and play instruments. The curriculum is very broad and includes songs from other cultures and musical traditions as well as some lovely hymns and fun nursery rhymes.

Xavier loves sitting on his new bed and listening to CDs now. Yesterday I overheard my husband settling a skirmish between the boys in their room. It ended this way:

"Xavier, do NOT slam the door on your brother again. Share the room or I'm turning off the jazz!"

It was quite the motivator for fraternal peace.

Big Beds

Goodbye, toddler bed and crib; hello, big beds. Tim and I teamed up to build the boys a pair of beds that will eventually be stacked into a bunk bed in a few years. We used these plans. Tim bought and cut the wood while I did the sanding and most of the build. We bought the mattresses at Big Lots and the bedding at Target.

This was technically the boys' big Christmas gift--it just took a little longer than I thought to complete. I didn't want to rush the process. Xavier got such a kick out of seeing his new bed under various stages of construction. As you can see, though, Jack doesn't seem to mind the delay either.

I'm very happy with the results. These beds are SOLID. And if the boys manage to scratch or break them, we've got the skills, supplies and tools to fix them.

Easel to Love

It's amazing how a simple easel makes learning letters so much more fun. One side is a chalkboard and the other is a magnetic dry-erase board. Both have jump started the boys' letter drawing efforts. They don't even know yet that I can clip paper onto this and they can paint standing up. Wonderful!

Tot School -- January 2011

Fine motor skills, aka sticker fun. Hanging laundry in the dining room. I'm convinced Montessori will eventually turn my sons into little houseminions.

Dressing up to go outside. Jack and Xavier suited up and then came to find me to let them into the back yard.

Working on the letter C.

Hot Wheels

Forgive me. I'm nearly an entire month behind in posting photos so you, dear readers, are going to have to endure some Christmas photos. Tim took Xavier to the park today for a bike riding "lesson" which reminded me that I have a backlog of adorable riding toy photos and one hillarious video. Enjoy!

Yup. That's Jack on Xavier's "big boy" bike. He can't ride it but he likes to try.

Here he is on the Hot Wheel while Xavier puts on his helmet.

Now on to the smaller training bike.

Nope, even if he can't make it go, Jack still wants to sit on his big brother's bike.

And a few days later...

Opposites

Xavier: Mom, what's the opposite of car?

Me: It doesn't have an opposite, sweetie.

Xavier: Yes, it does!

Dad: Yeah? What is it?

Xavier: (pause). Skateboard!

Halloween Pics

Xavier was a construction worker and Jack was an owl. We opted for daytime trick-or-treating at the Ames Main Street Trick-or-Treat on Friday. Tim took off work for the afternoon and the boys had a blast.

A Tale of Two Coats

Nearly six weeks ago Grandma and Grandpa McNicholl sent the boys their very first full-fledged winter coats via the fairies at Land's End. Jack loved his so much that he refused to take it off for about an hour after arrival. These coats are fantastic: lots of pockets for little boys, built in fingerless gloves, water and dirt resistant fabric, and even the ability to add two more inches to the sleeve legnth as the boys grow.

It has been an unseasonably warm autumn here in Iowa so up until now the coats haven't gotten much day-to-day use. Since we are such an outdoors-loving family the coats did come in handy for all the weekend camping trips where we were outside first thing in the morning and the temperatures were quite chilly.

Here are the coats at Grinnell college's homecoming weekend.


At Rock Creek State Park.

This morning it is finally a very chilly 24 degrees with an expected high of 45 degrees. Our first official Coat Day!